Page 26 of Incompatible

Kaen and Zion are already in line, near the front. Alex is at the back, which is a relief. It makes it easier to slip away. I wait until everyone’s seated. When I grab my tray, I turn towardAlex’s table. Kaen and Zion wave at me, but I ignore them. Deep down, I think this whole social juggling thing sucks.

When I sit down, I see their smiles fade, but Alex’s face brightens with a shy smile.

For a while, we sit in silence. I don’t know what to say. Everything that’s happened lately, being attacked, and then my dad killing those two monsters, sounds way too heavy for a casual lunch talk over chicken salad, doesn’t it? So yeah, I fall short of socially acceptable conversation topics.

A few tables away, I notice the two alphas from our class, Vin and Rob, sitting with a beta and an omega, both kinda looking alike. Other family members? They’re watching us with hard-to-read expressions.

But I ignore them. I’m not in the mood to befriend anyone here. I just want to survive.

And this tiny Alex? He’s a disruption, an unexpected light piercing my darkness like an amethyst arrow.

Alex suddenly takes out a note from his pocket and shows me what I wrote earlier, about not calling me a beautiful alpha.

"I’ve been thinking about that. I think you should value yourself more," he says, lightly tapping the paper with his thin finger.

I watch his delicate hand move, but I stay silent. His nails are painted pale pink with a touch of glitter.

"I kind of stalked you a little," he says with an embarrassed smile. "Found a Bay Nolan, small YouTube channel, and your Facebook account."

"Seriously? Not cool," I mutter, grimacing.

"Sorry… But you really intrigued me. And I think I know where your music interest comes from. Your father used to be in this famous boy band three decades ago. You get a lot of his looks and probably his musical talent too."

"My dad’s a musician too. Most of my brothers play instruments."

Alex sighs. "It must be nice, being part of a big family like yours. I’m an only child. Just me and my dad. My father’s gone."

"I’m sorry. That sucks," I mumble, breaking off a piece of my croissant.

"I never knew him. He died before I was born."

"It must’ve been hard for your dad, raising you alone and working…"

Alex mindlessly pokes at the celery salad. "Well, my father’s brother helped him out. My uncle Dimitri. He was a beta and single. He moved in with us and was like my second parent. But he passed away last year. So now it’s just… the two of us."

He says it calmly, but I can tell it’s not easy for him.

"I’m sorry, Alex."

"Yeah, it’s just me and him now." His energy drops a little, like the thought alone is depressing.

I have no idea what to respond. Should I keep going with the topic? It might sound like I’m prying into his personal life a bit too soon, but cutting off something that clearly matters to him feels kind of rude. So I just say something random, anything to keep us from falling into silence.

"What about your grandparents?"

"My granddad’s a high-functioning alcoholic, a city clerk, and a terrible person. My dad’s only brother is a junkie. He dumped his kid on Granddad and vanished to chase his next fix. Granddad’s raising my cousin Jared now, but we barely talk. So yeah, we’re alone. Empty house, nobody comes over."

I listen, though I have some trouble fully focusing, my mind messy, all over the place. My life, up until two or three days ago, was perfectly fine. Big family on my father’s side, tons of cousins and uncles, grandparents. Noisy house. None of us ever feltlonely, maybe except for Snow, but he’s always been a bit distant with all his strange powers.

Now I’m theonewho feels distant and lonely. But for very different reasons.

"Do you want to be a musician too, like your parents?" Alex suddenly asks, probably to change the heavy subject.

"Yeah, I do. I recently started that YouTube channel you found and began uploading songs. I also joined the band, orchestra, and the choir here. They accepted me."

Alex looks thoughtful. "You’ve got a looot of electives. That’s a lot of extra classes."

I shrug. "It’s not like I’ve got anything else to do."